Today, Canada’s gun lobby, the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (The CCFR), filed an unprecedented class action application against the Federal Government utilizing recent amendments to Saskatchewan’s Provincial Firearms Act. The action aims to hold the Federal Government to their promise to compensate licensed gun owners for their lawfully acquired property made worthless after the May 1, 2020 firearm bans and subsequent actions. This is the latest countermeasure The CCFR has launched to protect licensed gun owners against an unreasonable and overreaching Liberal government.

If successful, a certified class action would force the government to pay full and fair compensation to affected residents of Saskatchewan for not only their banned firearms, but for other affected property such as accessories and in some cases, ammunition. This case will significantly impact decisions currently under consideration by other provinces and territories regarding the government’s embattled firearm bans and “compensation program”.

Background

On May 1, 2020, the Federal Government launched a 5-year series of firearm bans applying only to legally acquired and possessed firearms¹. The federal government committed to “fairly” compensating licensed firearm owners for their property as the misuse occurring in Canada was not of their making. After five and a half years from their initial announcement, the government rolled out a shameful version of a “compensation program”, one that featured multiple disincentives to participation².

“10.1 The Recipient acknowledges that under
section 40 of the Financial Administration Act
(R.S.C. 1985, c. F-11), any payment under this
Agreement is subject to an annual appropriation
for the fiscal year in which any commitment
hereunder would come in course of payment.
Therefore, the funding amount may be reduced
or terminated at the Minister's discretion in
response to the government's annual budget or
a parliamentary spending decision that has an
impact on the Program under which this
Agreement is made.”

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 1 The way the law is structured in Canada is that everyone is prohibited from acquiring or possessing a firearm who is not exempted from criminal liability by way of a valid license (PAL, RPAL). Therefore, unlicensed people or criminals are already banned from possessing firearms. 

2 See the last part of this advisory detailing the government’s disincentives.  

The owner of the property in question wouldn’t know whether or not they're getting paid or how much until they expose what they own to the government and ship them the property. See the end of this document for more examples of the government disincentivizing law abiding gun owners from participating in this program. 

Along with dozens of law enforcement agencies across Canada, most provinces and territories have pushed back against the government’s actions against (exclusively) licensed gun owners while leaving criminals alone.

Class Action Lawsuit

In November 2025, the government of Saskatchewan brought in amendments to the Saskatchewan Firearms Act. These amendments were carefully drafted to provide specific protection to the residents of that province who legally owned firearms. In short, the legislation ensures that if the government enacts law, regulation or policy that diminishes or destroys the value of property, the government must pay for it at fair market value.

Considering this common sense legislation, the CCFR is initiating a class action lawsuit on behalf of the affected residents of Saskatchewan. Claiming losses via this legislation could not be done at small claims court, these claims would have to be addressed at the Court of the King's Bench. This would prevent many affected persons from participating as the costs would be too high. The CCFR has decided to assume this burden and filed this action on July 14th, 2026.

If the CCFR wins this case, every affected resident of Saskatchewan would have a full price claim against the government for any property that was affected. This applies to the 1550 models of firearms that were banned on May 1st, 2020, approximately 800 additional models subsequently banned by the RCMP, estates of handgun owners deprived of their inheritances and more.

If successful, these claims could represent hundreds of millions of dollars in Saskatchewan alone. Other provinces are considering similar legislation and the CCFR is considering a similar role in those jurisdictions as well. If the government were to pay fair compensation across the country, as they promised, the cost could be as high as eight to twelve billion; including administration costs.

An important aspect of this story is that this legislation is not intended to stop or obstruct the so-called “Compensation Program” nor repeal the Order in Council that caused it all. This legislation merely ensures that protected residents get compensated as per the government’s own promise over the last six years.

Other Disincentives 

• The government announced a small pool of money, nowhere near enough to compensate for the number of affected firearms in circulation. Estimates range from one to two million of these firearms, though the government budgeted for 136,000 in total. 
• The government released the budget number and informed gun owners that they would be in competition with each other for the little funding that was available. This was offensive and demonstrated the government's propensity to deal in bad faith.
• The government provided only two months for licensed gun owners to register for the program. The government informed the public that those who didn't know about the program or didn't register for any other reason, would be excluded with no exceptions. 
• The government decided that they wouldn't compensate for anything else that would be rendered worthless such as magazines, specific ammunition or accessories. Licensed gun owners would be stuck with this worthless property with no compensation. 
• The government structured the funding agreement and the program such that no one would know whether they're going to get any money at all until their firearm was collected. This specifically created even more distrust and contempt for the government’s actions. 
• The government's pricing was erratic. There were some firearms that were worth $2500 that the government settled on a price of $600. It is completely reasonable that people wouldn't give up their property when being treated like that. 
• Signing the funding agreement was a condition of participation in the program. This agreement provided a myriad of opportunities for the government to change the price offered for firearms or to decline to pay the agreed price entirely. 
• The government's program didn't cover taxes paid on any of the property which in some cases could represent thousands of dollars. 
• The government felt it necessary to end the amnesty within a few months of the program conclusion. Given all of the incentives not to participate, this put even more pressure on every day, licensed gun owners. This was not received well³. 

It's abundantly clear to any unbiased observer that if this was ever about public safety, the government would have just paid licensed gun owners a reasonable price for their firearms, their accessories and the taxes paid. All the government would have had to do was follow through with a promise they made dozens of times, in public, over nearly six years. It is truly that simple. 

News of Saskatchewan’s Firearms Act Amendments: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2025/november/25/province-to-introduce-amendments-to-the-saskatchewan-firearms-act 

3 As a result of CCFR v. Canada, the amnesty was extended to three months after the Supreme Court renders its decision. The current scheduled hearing dates are Nov 9 & 10, 2026.